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Mongolian Chicken

Mongolian chicken features crispy-edged, golden chicken glazed in a dark, sticky soy-ginger sauce with charred green onion pieces. It’s an easy soy sauce stir-fry that clings glossy to every bite over steamed white rice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Dish
Cuisine: Asian, Asian-American
Calories: 760
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken
  • 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts Thinly sliced.
  • 0.25 cup cornstarch For coating.
  • 0.5 salt To taste.
  • 0.5 pepper To taste.
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil For searing and pan-frying.
Sauce
  • 5 garlic Minced.
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger Grated.
  • 0.5 cup soy sauce
  • 0.33 cup brown sugar
  • 0.25 cup water
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp cornstarch Mixed with water to make a slurry (1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water).
  • 1 tbsp water Used for the slurry.
To finish
  • 4 green onions Cut into 2-inch pieces.
  • 1 sesame seeds For serving.
  • 1 steamed rice For serving.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Coat the chicken
  1. Toss the sliced chicken with cornstarch, salt, and pepper until coated.
  2. Set the coated chicken aside while you mix the sauce.
Make the Mongolian sauce
  1. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes until smooth.
Sear and glaze
  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat; cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes per side until deeply golden and cooked through, then remove.
  2. Add garlic and ginger to the same pan and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  3. Pour in the sauce and bring it to a boil.
  4. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened and glossy.
  5. Return the chicken to the pan, add the green onions, and toss to coat until the sauce clings and the onions are charred-tender.
Serve
  1. Serve the Mongolian chicken over steamed rice and top with sesame seeds.

Notes

For the crispiest edges, spread the coated chicken in a single layer in the hot pan and avoid overcrowding. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days; reheat in a skillet over medium until hot and glossy, adding a splash of water if needed. Freezing is not recommended because the cornstarch coating softens after thawing. For a lower-sugar swap, use a reduced-sugar brown sugar blend 1:1 in the sauce.